Arrghh.. Blogger is annoying me. =.= It won’t edit my post without editing other things.. –cough- Guess what? I used a new font. xD Anyways, here’s the next chapter, as promised.
To be honest, my legs felt like little needles were poking them after every step I took. Running around the whole school just didn’t seem like the best thing for my legs. But I pressed down all of the needles because it was all worth it.
Amber and coffee tinted leaves surrounded me, breaking away from branches every so often. The forest had turned into some sort of deciduous forest during the fall. It captured my interest all the time; it was the one place in the world that seemed unaffected by the continuous hectic chaos this world had erupted. And even better, it had seemed to perfectly plant itself right next to my house. It was like this vast beauty of nature had chosen me.
I let out a hysterical laugh, partly laughing at my selfishness and partly because of the swift calming affects of the forest. How could I think this place had chosen me? It seemed too good for anything. It couldn’t belong to anything.
Without realizing, I kept walking deeper into the fall trees, enjoying the sounds of the forest too much. A distant trickle of a stream met my ears; birds sang a loud, yet calming song. It made me feel too comfortable and all my senses of danger seemed to lie dormant. But the scary thing was that I was vaguely aware.. yet, I didn’t even care.
As I walked my unplanned route, my eyes drifted to a sunny clearing up ahead. My legs paused briefly in mid-step, mesmerized by the enchanting brightness of it. Autumn colored leaves littered the piercing green grass. The dazzling sunlight seemed to add the perfect touch to the beautiful scenery. At the moment, all I desired was to run into the clearing, and so I did. With no hint of subtly whatsoever, I threw myself on the ground. Deciduous leaves softened my landing, making crunching noises in the process. My mouth opened, inhaling the sweet scent of the grass. I had no intention of thinking about Augustus’s strange behavior, but the memory was pestering. Emery was one of the strangest too.. why was she pretending? And then there was Caleb. He left nearly a year ago.. but why had he come back? Questions began to flow like a rushing river..
A sudden crunch of a leaf made me go stiff. The piercing sound felt close, really close. Rolled onto my side, I did not dare turn back to what had broken the perfect, serene atmosphere. It felt like someone was squeezing my heart and forcing it to pump faster and faster.. I forced myself to think logically and stop shaking. I was being stupid and unnecessarily frightened. It had to be an animal.. no one could be here. Maybe, it was a bird that had landed roughly. The piercing crunch didn’t seem so heavy and violent.. like it was in the medium range. My mind continued to race, calculating possible answers.
“Heh.. At least I didn’t have to barge into your house. This is much easier.” The husky voice had sounded familiar. I instantly sat up, twisting my head in the voice’s direction.
“Sorry. I scared you, didn’t I?” The blonde’s slightly wavy hair blew harshly against his face as he smiled tiredly. I couldn’t help but scream his name in pure surprise.
“Caleb?!” My eyes widened as I examined his face.. he looked so different. Bags hung under his eyes, but I was glad to know his hazel eyes were still unaffected. His golden hair looked in need of a desperate hair cut; they were long enough to caress his shoulders. And just like Emery and Augustus, Caleb had appeared so much more muscular than I had last seen him. Huh. Why was everyone working out so much so suddenly at the same time? But I hardly cared because I was so glad that his smile had never changed. It still had that same comforting yet humorous quality to it. But I hadn’t realized how much all of this suppressing could come back so violently. How long had I tried to forget him? Too long, it seemed. His presence made my body feel like it had been knocked out of the wind, except it seemed to happen everytime he was mentioned.
“Yup.. it’s me. In the flesh.” I winced at how he so casually said it. I almost scowled as I spoke.
“Why did you move without telling me?” He hesitated; frustration and guilt seemed to collide with his once happy expression.
“I—it’s complicated. But, you’ll figure out soon; I promise.” The last sentence was so.. so.. innocent and pleading I couldn’t get mad at him. And to add to that, he smiled that same comforting smile.
“When?” I asked impatiently, rising to my feet.
“Now.” He whispered in his husky voice. His feet took a few steps towards me, reached for my hand and led me out of the sunny clearing. I almost stood my ground, not wishing to leave it. His hand made my hand feel like it was boiling. I tried not to concentrate on it; instead, I started interrogating him.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll know once we get there.” I pouted; he was being unbelievably persistent. He walked swiftly and quietly on the soft soil, not facing me at all. It was hard to predict what he was thinking when I couldn’t see his expression. He no longer held my hand, knowing that I’d follow from curiosity. Dead air seemed to hang in between us as we walked in the seemingly endless forest.
“Am I going to learn why you’ve been gone for a year?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He laughed softly as he walked, but after that, everything became silent again. Ugh. I couldn’t stand it. I was sure I my hand was getting clammy from the anxiety.
After what seemed like an eternity, he abruptly stopped in front of a large oak tree. It was abnormally large and the bark seemed thick. It stood proudly in front of us. But its size did not enhance me; it was the small intricate carving on the trunk. A leaf, the ocean, firelight, and gusts of wind were delicately engraved into the bark. I couldn’t understand how they were so small yet so detailed..
“It’s.. pretty.” My description hardly did it justice.
“Did you make this?” I asked, thoroughly amazed at how detailed it was.
“Of course not, Cordelia.” I felt my insides glow once he spoke my name. For the first time since the clearing, he turned to look at me.
“Hold on tight.” He grasped my arm tightly, too tightly to feel any comfort from it. I reflexively grabbed his arm. His words made me feel bewildered. Hold on tight? What was that supposed to mean?
Before I could form words, Caleb’s arm shot out swiftly, his palm hitting right on the detailed design forcefully. Everything after that happened so quickly. My sluggish eyes had seen the two of us walk into the oak tree with complete ease. I felt lightheaded and floating for a split second, and everything was blindingly white and bright. My whole body felt a crazy sensation; similar to the feeling when you go sky diving and you’re falling through that incredible air, just falling.. But it was over, much too soon for my liking. My grip had tightened in the process on Caleb’s arm, but he had seemed relaxed. Before another second could pass, I could feel the soft soil beneath my feet again and the blinding light had ceased. The air smelled just as good as the forest, but it was.. different, still. Yet, everything looked the same! The autumn leaves still littered the floor, trees still in the same position. The only difference was that the colossal, wide oak tree was behind me. Maybe I wasn’t hallucinating.. maybe, I had really walked right out of an oak tree.
“Caleb, did we just walk through a tree?” My voice did not show how bewildered I was on the inside. It felt like all I had wanted at this moment was to scream, ‘WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED?!’
“Yeah, something like that. Oh, and by the way, I’ll get bruise if you keep squishing my arm like that.” Suddenly aware of my grip, I released him.
“Sorry. Caleb, what had just happened?” I asked him, feeling very much like the fabric of reality had been ripped to shreds.
“Don’t freak on me, please? I promise everything will be answered. I need to get us out of here; it’s really unsafe if we stay here like this.” I groaned heavily. I still couldn’t understand what he was talking about. And to add to my endless frustration, he was simply refusing to tell me.. hmph.
“Fine, fine, fine! I just want my questions answered as soon as possible.” He raised his right eyebrow.
“Do you mind running?”
“Erm.. no, not really.”
“Excellent. Follow me.” He shot off into the depths of the trees so quickly it reminded me of Augustus. My legs had to work relentlessly and at their fastest to keep up with him; I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to keep up this pace long enough. Even so, I was so thankful that I had worn sneakers today. My dark brown eyes caught him sneaking a peak at me, and his strides shorted and his pace slowed down tremendously. Though I was happy for the change in pace, trees flew past us as we winded ourselves around them for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, Caleb abruptly stopped. My sneakers had trouble halting; I had been going at an unbelievably swift pace, and struggled to not crash into the tall blonde. My mouth was gulping in a large quantity of air, yet, Caleb seemed totally calm with his breathing.
The next few steps seemed delicate; like he wasn’t trying to disturb a sleeping bear. Why weren’t we running like before? I was about to ask, but my mouth felt so parched from the run, my voice failed. So I crept in the lofty blades of grass with him. The tree’s canopy hovered above us, casting a vast shadow across the forest. How late was it now? It looked so dark.. but it was impossible to tell with the canopy hiding the sky from me. After minutes of gaining my breath, I asked him my question.
“We don’t want it to seem like there’s an attack.” He answered in a normal, calm voice, still not facing me. Ugh. What was wrong with him? Everything that he seemed to say got me more and more confused. But I decided to ignore all of that.
“Caleb, do you have water?” Water felt like the first priority my body needed. My voice was so cracked and dry. His hazel eyes widened in a revelation as he shook his head shamefully.
“Sorry. I hadn’t realized you’d get thirsty. Once we get to there, I promise they’ll be some water there for you.” His head turned back onto the unmarked path that he seemed to be following intently. I nearly groaned; so many promises.. none of them he had actually kept yet. I hadn’t even bothered to even think about ‘where' was. Everything was equally confusing, and therefore, not worth asking when he wasn’t going to answer you. I was just amazed that he wasn't thirsty. After what seemed like a few minutes, I faced something so unexpected, I gasped. My legs stood planted to the bouncy soil, my head spinning in confusion at what stood before me.
To be honest, my legs felt like little needles were poking them after every step I took. Running around the whole school just didn’t seem like the best thing for my legs. But I pressed down all of the needles because it was all worth it.
Amber and coffee tinted leaves surrounded me, breaking away from branches every so often. The forest had turned into some sort of deciduous forest during the fall. It captured my interest all the time; it was the one place in the world that seemed unaffected by the continuous hectic chaos this world had erupted. And even better, it had seemed to perfectly plant itself right next to my house. It was like this vast beauty of nature had chosen me.
I let out a hysterical laugh, partly laughing at my selfishness and partly because of the swift calming affects of the forest. How could I think this place had chosen me? It seemed too good for anything. It couldn’t belong to anything.
Without realizing, I kept walking deeper into the fall trees, enjoying the sounds of the forest too much. A distant trickle of a stream met my ears; birds sang a loud, yet calming song. It made me feel too comfortable and all my senses of danger seemed to lie dormant. But the scary thing was that I was vaguely aware.. yet, I didn’t even care.
As I walked my unplanned route, my eyes drifted to a sunny clearing up ahead. My legs paused briefly in mid-step, mesmerized by the enchanting brightness of it. Autumn colored leaves littered the piercing green grass. The dazzling sunlight seemed to add the perfect touch to the beautiful scenery. At the moment, all I desired was to run into the clearing, and so I did. With no hint of subtly whatsoever, I threw myself on the ground. Deciduous leaves softened my landing, making crunching noises in the process. My mouth opened, inhaling the sweet scent of the grass. I had no intention of thinking about Augustus’s strange behavior, but the memory was pestering. Emery was one of the strangest too.. why was she pretending? And then there was Caleb. He left nearly a year ago.. but why had he come back? Questions began to flow like a rushing river..
A sudden crunch of a leaf made me go stiff. The piercing sound felt close, really close. Rolled onto my side, I did not dare turn back to what had broken the perfect, serene atmosphere. It felt like someone was squeezing my heart and forcing it to pump faster and faster.. I forced myself to think logically and stop shaking. I was being stupid and unnecessarily frightened. It had to be an animal.. no one could be here. Maybe, it was a bird that had landed roughly. The piercing crunch didn’t seem so heavy and violent.. like it was in the medium range. My mind continued to race, calculating possible answers.
“Heh.. At least I didn’t have to barge into your house. This is much easier.” The husky voice had sounded familiar. I instantly sat up, twisting my head in the voice’s direction.
“Sorry. I scared you, didn’t I?” The blonde’s slightly wavy hair blew harshly against his face as he smiled tiredly. I couldn’t help but scream his name in pure surprise.
“Caleb?!” My eyes widened as I examined his face.. he looked so different. Bags hung under his eyes, but I was glad to know his hazel eyes were still unaffected. His golden hair looked in need of a desperate hair cut; they were long enough to caress his shoulders. And just like Emery and Augustus, Caleb had appeared so much more muscular than I had last seen him. Huh. Why was everyone working out so much so suddenly at the same time? But I hardly cared because I was so glad that his smile had never changed. It still had that same comforting yet humorous quality to it. But I hadn’t realized how much all of this suppressing could come back so violently. How long had I tried to forget him? Too long, it seemed. His presence made my body feel like it had been knocked out of the wind, except it seemed to happen everytime he was mentioned.
“Yup.. it’s me. In the flesh.” I winced at how he so casually said it. I almost scowled as I spoke.
“Why did you move without telling me?” He hesitated; frustration and guilt seemed to collide with his once happy expression.
“I—it’s complicated. But, you’ll figure out soon; I promise.” The last sentence was so.. so.. innocent and pleading I couldn’t get mad at him. And to add to that, he smiled that same comforting smile.
“When?” I asked impatiently, rising to my feet.
“Now.” He whispered in his husky voice. His feet took a few steps towards me, reached for my hand and led me out of the sunny clearing. I almost stood my ground, not wishing to leave it. His hand made my hand feel like it was boiling. I tried not to concentrate on it; instead, I started interrogating him.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll know once we get there.” I pouted; he was being unbelievably persistent. He walked swiftly and quietly on the soft soil, not facing me at all. It was hard to predict what he was thinking when I couldn’t see his expression. He no longer held my hand, knowing that I’d follow from curiosity. Dead air seemed to hang in between us as we walked in the seemingly endless forest.
“Am I going to learn why you’ve been gone for a year?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He laughed softly as he walked, but after that, everything became silent again. Ugh. I couldn’t stand it. I was sure I my hand was getting clammy from the anxiety.
After what seemed like an eternity, he abruptly stopped in front of a large oak tree. It was abnormally large and the bark seemed thick. It stood proudly in front of us. But its size did not enhance me; it was the small intricate carving on the trunk. A leaf, the ocean, firelight, and gusts of wind were delicately engraved into the bark. I couldn’t understand how they were so small yet so detailed..
“It’s.. pretty.” My description hardly did it justice.
“Did you make this?” I asked, thoroughly amazed at how detailed it was.
“Of course not, Cordelia.” I felt my insides glow once he spoke my name. For the first time since the clearing, he turned to look at me.
“Hold on tight.” He grasped my arm tightly, too tightly to feel any comfort from it. I reflexively grabbed his arm. His words made me feel bewildered. Hold on tight? What was that supposed to mean?
Before I could form words, Caleb’s arm shot out swiftly, his palm hitting right on the detailed design forcefully. Everything after that happened so quickly. My sluggish eyes had seen the two of us walk into the oak tree with complete ease. I felt lightheaded and floating for a split second, and everything was blindingly white and bright. My whole body felt a crazy sensation; similar to the feeling when you go sky diving and you’re falling through that incredible air, just falling.. But it was over, much too soon for my liking. My grip had tightened in the process on Caleb’s arm, but he had seemed relaxed. Before another second could pass, I could feel the soft soil beneath my feet again and the blinding light had ceased. The air smelled just as good as the forest, but it was.. different, still. Yet, everything looked the same! The autumn leaves still littered the floor, trees still in the same position. The only difference was that the colossal, wide oak tree was behind me. Maybe I wasn’t hallucinating.. maybe, I had really walked right out of an oak tree.
“Caleb, did we just walk through a tree?” My voice did not show how bewildered I was on the inside. It felt like all I had wanted at this moment was to scream, ‘WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED?!’
“Yeah, something like that. Oh, and by the way, I’ll get bruise if you keep squishing my arm like that.” Suddenly aware of my grip, I released him.
“Sorry. Caleb, what had just happened?” I asked him, feeling very much like the fabric of reality had been ripped to shreds.
“Don’t freak on me, please? I promise everything will be answered. I need to get us out of here; it’s really unsafe if we stay here like this.” I groaned heavily. I still couldn’t understand what he was talking about. And to add to my endless frustration, he was simply refusing to tell me.. hmph.
“Fine, fine, fine! I just want my questions answered as soon as possible.” He raised his right eyebrow.
“Do you mind running?”
“Erm.. no, not really.”
“Excellent. Follow me.” He shot off into the depths of the trees so quickly it reminded me of Augustus. My legs had to work relentlessly and at their fastest to keep up with him; I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to keep up this pace long enough. Even so, I was so thankful that I had worn sneakers today. My dark brown eyes caught him sneaking a peak at me, and his strides shorted and his pace slowed down tremendously. Though I was happy for the change in pace, trees flew past us as we winded ourselves around them for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, Caleb abruptly stopped. My sneakers had trouble halting; I had been going at an unbelievably swift pace, and struggled to not crash into the tall blonde. My mouth was gulping in a large quantity of air, yet, Caleb seemed totally calm with his breathing.
The next few steps seemed delicate; like he wasn’t trying to disturb a sleeping bear. Why weren’t we running like before? I was about to ask, but my mouth felt so parched from the run, my voice failed. So I crept in the lofty blades of grass with him. The tree’s canopy hovered above us, casting a vast shadow across the forest. How late was it now? It looked so dark.. but it was impossible to tell with the canopy hiding the sky from me. After minutes of gaining my breath, I asked him my question.
“We don’t want it to seem like there’s an attack.” He answered in a normal, calm voice, still not facing me. Ugh. What was wrong with him? Everything that he seemed to say got me more and more confused. But I decided to ignore all of that.
“Caleb, do you have water?” Water felt like the first priority my body needed. My voice was so cracked and dry. His hazel eyes widened in a revelation as he shook his head shamefully.
“Sorry. I hadn’t realized you’d get thirsty. Once we get to there, I promise they’ll be some water there for you.” His head turned back onto the unmarked path that he seemed to be following intently. I nearly groaned; so many promises.. none of them he had actually kept yet. I hadn’t even bothered to even think about ‘where' was. Everything was equally confusing, and therefore, not worth asking when he wasn’t going to answer you. I was just amazed that he wasn't thirsty. After what seemed like a few minutes, I faced something so unexpected, I gasped. My legs stood planted to the bouncy soil, my head spinning in confusion at what stood before me.
Okay.. dun, dun, dun.. xD YA FEEL DA SUSPENSE?! Good. Does any part of this sound familiar? Hint, hint, the forest part was part of my dream.
I know this post didn’t exactly give out much.. But I really really really PROMISE the next one will be. (I can guarantee this because I’ve already wrote it. xD)
4 comments:
it's not that i didn't like it; i did! but, some parts could be more interesting, and honestly, walking into a tree? what?!?!! O.o
omg, i love how you named the guy Caleb and how you described him! It reminds me exactly of this guy at my church!!! Except for the hair... He's asian, duh...
umm, some parts i just skimmed because i thought they were a tad too predictable. please make her thoughts different...
i think you're kind of basing this off of Twilight. The bags under Caleb's eyes, and how he seems so awesome and perfect, and mysterious at once...
but i like how he's mysterious and his description makes him seem wonderful.
the names aren't exactly what i'd expect, but i do admire how outgoing you are to make the character's have such odd names(sorry if this offends anyone).
honestly, i think there are a few too many characters. Caleb and Cordelious (or how ever you spell it)and her friend can stay, but I'm not quite sure that Augustus and that other girl need to stay unless they're barely ever mentioned. With this many characters, you can lose your reader (i mean, make your reader not understand what's going on and who is who) (that's what I'm feeling right now. I don't know who is who because you're introducing the characters much too quickly)
you used "after what seemed like" and "eternity" at least twice or more while they were used much too closely.
around the part where Caleb comes in, there's some more confusion. I don't know who is saying what. At least use one "I whispered/said/or something" instead of writing something you said and then immediately writing what Caleb's response was on the same line/paragraph.
Again, there's much, much more I'd like to say, but THIS IS MERELY A SUGGESTION...well, THESE are merely suggestionS... ehh...
if you want to hear more, email or chat. :]
--becca :]
Thankk you!! Omgod, you cannot believe how thankful I am to have this constructive critisism.. Everyone just says "it's good". xD But on the polls, that's clearly not the case.
I'll talk to you on chat about everything since I'm way too impatient to wait for you to reply on email.. >.<
lol
oh and on the poll, Caleb (who seems really awesome) said that when you got there, there'd be water. that means (as your poll said) there's a waterfall.
heheh.. You'll see what's there.. xP
-devious grin-
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